


Intermediate Studies of the Alphabet

by AlmightyMirage



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Additional Characters Might Be Added, Alphabet, Alphabet Meme, But Mostly Post S6, Drabble Collection, F/M, Ficlet Collection, Fluff, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Romance, Set Across Space and Time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25748215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlmightyMirage/pseuds/AlmightyMirage
Summary: A collection of small ficlets about Jeff and Annie's relationship and life together, based around the alphabet.
Relationships: Annie Edison/Jeff Winger
Comments: 54
Kudos: 84





	1. Ass

“You know, I never really understood that whole ass crack bandit thing.” Jeff suddenly blurted out one night as they sat huddled in front of the tv at their apartment.

“How so?” Annie turned around to ask, slightly confused by the sudden appearance of _that_ subject.

“Why would someone start putting coins down people’s asses every now and then, stop for a year, then suddenly they reappear again?” Jeff asked her seriously.

“I don’t know? Maybe they just liked asses and missed putting coins in them?” Annie retorted.

“I like them too, but I don’t go putting coins in them.” Jeff responded with an air of ridiculousness to him, the whole notion of someone doing that was just too random to make sense.

“So maybe it was you!?” Annie accused, pointing her finger at him.

“What!?” Jeff exclaimed in a mixture of shock and amusement. 

“It makes so much sense. You like Dave Matthews Band, your long legs allow you to move quickly to escape, and you are smart enough to pull it off.” Annie said, and scrambled over to the living room desk to find her notepad and pen.

Jeff looked over at her as she started scribbling things down. “Do you really think I would bother doing anything like that? And how the hell would I be able to keep hidden? I wear shirts or a sweater every day, I haven’t worn a hoodie or anything that could disguise me in public for as long as I can remember. And besides, not to brag here, but I’m massive. I stick out like a sore, but very handsome thumb wherever I go.” He argued to her before she sat down again on the couch.

“Still. The movement and Dave Matthews factor speak against you Jeff. It’s undeniable.” Annie countered with a smug tone.

“What would I possibly have to gain from doing it though? The one who gained something from it was you.” Jeff said, and Annie gasped. “You brought it up when you did that school campaign thing, and then you brought it up again years later knowing that I was the only one who would bother helping you out. Both times, it gave you a free excuse to hang out with me. And in the first case you could have gotten elected based on it. And you are definitely smart enough to plan something like that, _and_ you are quick if you want to be.” He argued, causing Annie to get more and more unsettled.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” She said, and awkwardly giggled. “I don’t even like Dave Matthews Band.”

“That could easily have been a deliberate mislead from the bandit.” Jeff countered. 

“Jeff, I don’t even like asses.” Annie tried to argue, but was quickly shut down.

“Objection, I see you checking mine out all the time.” Jeff countered instantly, knowing how he could trip her up.

“That’s different! Yours is nice, I can see that you’ve been working on it.” Annie argued with her hand covering the side of her face that was turned towards him, her face flushed with embarrassment. “Besides, it’s not like the bandit picked based on who has nice asses.”

“Mhm. Sure.” Jeff said with a laugh. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

“Jeff, it wasn’t me!” Annie said, and hit his shoulder in frustration.

“Ow!” Jeff exclaimed for dramatic effect, even though she didn’t hit him especially hard. “If it makes you feel any better, I quite like your butt too.” He added in a flirty tone.

Annie instantly started giggling. “Hah, you said butt! Troy would love that.” She exclaimed happily.

“Oh but I agree with Troy, butts are nice, yours especially.” Jeff said, eyeing her hungrily.

“I quite like yours too, mister.” Annie returned, equally flirty in return. Her flirty demeanour and the sultry look she gave him was enough to make Jeff lose his composure anytime, anywhere, and this was no exception. Jeff rapidly closed the gap between them, his lips crashing with hers in a hungry kiss, while his hands drifted further down her back.


	2. Butterfingers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The committee ran out of stars yet again. Annie sits down to make more, but gets some unexpected help.

Somehow, Jeff found himself sitting with Annie in the study room after everybody else had left. They had once again run out of stars, and between Hickey and Duncan’s instant escape after the meeting adjourned, Chang having already been ejected from the meeting halfway through, Shirley leaving for work and Britta not being interested, Jeff found himself as the only one left.

Annie had sat there with the pieces of paper in front of her on the table during the meeting, but since it wasn’t obligatory or strictly necessary, the others didn’t want to be involved with making them. Jeff didn’t really have anything to do, so he hadn’t left instantly, and now he sat there, just studying Annie as she sat there with scissor in hand, clipping out star after star. 

He got up to leave, when suddenly her eyes made contact with his. “Jeff could you help me?” She asked gently.

“Annie, I don’t know, I’m not good at that kind of stuff.” Jeff said, trying to excuse himself away from helping. Or that was his intention, until she looked at him with that look of hers, the one that broke down all his walls, crushed his ability to say no, and invaded his consciousness, planting lovely daisies and roses in his mind. 

“Please?” She pleaded, giving him the doe eyes he claimed to be immune to, but quite clearly wasn’t.

“Ugh, fine.” He groaned, giving up resisting against her ways. She was powerful, far too powerful. “What do you need me to do?” 

“Grab the second pair of scissors over there, and then make some stars, like these.” Annie said, and held up a few as examples.

Jeff wordlessly nodded, and walked over to grab the second pair of scissors. “Okay, let’s do this then.” He mostly told himself, with Annie looking at him amused.

Jeff’s first attempt was….not great. He tried to copy Annie’s stars by eye, but it ended up looking very odd, and not much like a star. “What do you think?” Jeff asked, and held it up for Annie to see.

Annie’s mouth hang slightly agape, not even sure what to say. “It looks….nice. But maybe try to make it more even?” She gently suggested.

“Sure.” Jeff agreed, then went to work again. He continued with the same one, snipping away at it until it was even. Triumphantly, he held it up for Annie to see.

Annie winced slightly “Uhm, it’s a bit small Jeff. I don’t think we can write much on that one.” She sheepishly said.

“Fine.” Jeff said, and demonstratively ripped it in two, before grabbing a new sheet of paper. Once again, he tried to make a star like Annie. However, on the last little snip, he cut too far inside, throwing off the proportions.

Jeff tried _again_ , and this time was super careful, only taking small snips at it so he could get the shape right. And he did get the shape right, the issue was that due to the small snips, the star was anything but even. 

“You’re getting there.” Annie tried to encourage.

Jeff ended up trying repeatedly, but was unable to get any of them right. Finally, he borrowed one of Annie’s stars to see if he could copy the shape, but ended up inadvertently ruining that too.

“Maybe…you should try doing something else? Here, what if I make the stars, and you write what we did on them?” Annie suggested gently. 

Jeff could feel himself getting frustrated, but silently agreed. Carefully, he sat down with Annie’s black marker in hand and started typing out the first accomplishment on Annie’s very comprehensive list. He never had the nicest handwriting in the world, but he at least considered it readable. And in this case, it would have been if he didn’t start out writing too big, with the end result being that he ran out of space for the last few words.

“I suck at this.” Jeff exclaimed, and held it up for Annie to see.

“Weeeeeeeell….if you write a bit smaller it could work?” Annie gently suggested, trying to be positive about it all.

“I’ll try.” Jeff sighed, slowly giving up on the whole thing. 

Once again, Jeff adjusted, this time trying to write in tiny handwriting to fit everything in. And it did fit, but he had overdone it, and the writing looked really tiny. Jeff held it up for Annie to approve, and could see her squinting to read it. 

“You know what, I’m just going to leave you to this, I’m not good at this at all.” Jeff said, and stood up to leave.

“Jeff, wait!” Annie called out to him.

“What?” Jeff said with a tinge of annoyance as he turned back around to her.

“Stay?” Annie asked, pleading him with her eyes.

“Annie, I’m no good at this. I’m just slowing you down.” Jeff countered.

“You don’t need to make stars and write. I enjoy your company, you know? It’s not that exciting to make all of these while everybody else just leave. I try to make the place look nice, but people just seem to take that for granted.” Annie explained, letting her frustration finally escape her.

“Oh.” Jeff managed to get out, pausing to collect his thoughts. “I didn’t realize you felt that way, I thought you liked all this arts and crafts stuff, so I just let you do it.”

“I do like it, but it’d be nice if I could enjoy it with someone, you know? You’re the first person that didn’t just flee once you saw me starting to make them, and I appreciated that, even if your stars weren’t great.” Annie explained, crossing her arms across her chest in a huff of frustration.

“How about this: I can stay and keep you company, but not make a single star so I don’t ruin them?” Jeff suggested.

“Counterproposal: I can make them, and you hang them up?” Annie suggested.

Jeff felt a smile form on his face. “Yeah, let’s do that.” He agreed, and Annie smiled happily in return to him.

***

The next day, the committee reconvened yet again for another meeting. Jeff had a break before that and had arrived early, while Annie, Abed, Shirley, Chang and Hickey slowly arrived a bit after. A bit later, Britta walked into the room, greeted the others, and sat down. She looked straight forwards, and noticed the star-board behind Annie.

“Woah, what’s up with the new stars?” Britta exclaimed, studying them closely.

“They’re Jeff’s. They are a little bit unique, but they add some variety to it.” Annie cheerfully responded.

“Who let butterfingers here make the stars?” Duncan added as he walked into the room and sat down beside Jeff.

“I did. He offered to help me out, and it was nice.” Annie retorted to Duncan.

“Well I think we’re better off without him making those.” Britta commented with a laugh.

“I like them.” Annie said, and turned to look at Jeff. Their eyes met briefly, both of them looking at each other fondly and admiringly. Across the table, Abed sat there studying them intently while the attention of the rest of the group moved on to something Chang said.


	3. Compatible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Adjective_
>
>> _(Of two people) able to have a harmonious relationship; well suited._

Annie knew that they didn’t make sense, that people were confused about why they were together. She was young, selfless, idealistic, positive, hard-working and good looking, people would say. She could get anyone she wanted if she put her mind to it, a few co-workers had told her on a night out. Yet she was with Jeff. A man some had called old, egotistical, pragmatic, negative and lazy. They hadn’t argued about his looks. People saw them as a couple that didn’t make sense, that had an expiration date, like they were oil and water, contrasting people that would never work together. That they simply weren’t _compatible_.

Yet, despite people’s suspicions, comments and whispers, they worked. Their relationship was sweet, loving and compassionate. She didn’t recognize those characteristics people saw in their relationship. Yes, Jeff was older, but he was still young in his mind, and with the body of a younger man too. He was more experienced, with both good and bad sides of that, but that wasn’t a problem for her. She didn’t mind. Annie didn’t see it like some others did. Jeff didn’t love her because she was young, he loved her because she was Annie. If he simply wanted someone younger, he could have had his pick, yet the only one he cared for was her, so much so that he had long denied himself the chance of pursuing her when she desperately wanted him to. In turn, he had proved that he wasn’t egotistical. His actions had been led by his care for her, which he had put over his own wants and wishes.

Sure, Jeff was still pragmatic, he wasn’t a great idealist, but he was no longer condescending against the ideals she or others showed. What she had noticed since they got together, was that he was more and more open to it. She assumed that past negative experienced had made him that way, but that once his life looked brighter and brighter, he had warmed up again. Along with it, his negativity had gone. He was more optimistic now, happier. Once his own life had started improve, against his own assumptions, his world view had changed. 

Even his interest in work had improved. She wasn’t sure why, but it had. He was actively trying now, first as a professor, later he had moved back into law, taking a job with a firm instead of starting his own this time. With his improved efforts and his articulate ways of convincing, he had started to make a name for himself again, in a good way.

At home, they were closer than people assumed. People had seen his apartment, gray, emotionless and scarcely decorated, and contrasted it with how her room used to look – pink colorful, filled with plushies, Disney and _girly_ things. But when meshes together, it worked. The pink had made way, but Jeff had embraced her love for plushies and colorful decoration. She didn’t need a plushie near her to sleep anymore, though she kept a few in their bedroom, having Jeff nearby had erased that need for something to cuddle with. Their living room too was like a beautiful mix of the two of them, both serious, yet fun loving and colorful. 

Their habits weren’t too different either. They were both orderly, clean people. Annie liked planning things, while Jeff barely made plans. The compromise had been for Annie to make slightly looser plans, which Jeff let her take control of, with minor input from him if she missed something. He was like her quality control department regarding her plans, but he had embraced it. It _worked_.

Annie didn’t see it like others did. They were compatible. They weren’t contrasts. Sure, they were different from each other, but they had traits, habits and interests in common. But most importantly, they loved each other, and that, Annie thought, was all anyone ever needed to be compatible.


	4. Domesticity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff and Annie settle into domestic life together as a couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special shoutout to AmryWiol and his unique spin on the alphabet fic!

Settling into life with Jeff had been surprisingly easy. It hadn’t been long into their dating before Annie became a frequent guest at Jeff’s place, staying more and more over at his place as time went on. Less time was spent at Annie’s place, mostly because it was slightly awkward to be intimate around Britta, and the privacy of Jeff’s place was nice, even if Craig sometimes knocked on the door. It was nice, easy and comfortable, as they both started to adapt to each other’s habits and preferences. 

One day, Jeff decided to surprise Annie with a gift. It was a key, not his spare key, but a customized, purple key, with its own key ring and an attached, tiny purple frog. Annie thought that maybe Jeff had remembered Nathan the frog, whom she had so mischievously hid in Ruthie’s pouch for a class years earlier. Annie squealed in joy in response, then leap up in his arms and kissed him happily and urgently, before dropping down and muttering a single, happy _‘yes’_.

Shortly after, Annie moved in with him, and they quickly settled into a domestic bliss together. As it turned out, their habits were eerily similar. They both liked to keep the place clean and tidy, both took forever in the bathroom each morning (time was saved by showing together, but _only_ for time-saving purposes), and both of them were willing and capable cooks. Annie had been surprised initially by Jeff’s cooking skills, but quickly realized that her assumptions hadn’t been well thought through. Jeff had been on a strict diet for years, and to make that even slightly passable, he had to find ways to make the food taste good. Besides, he had been cooking for himself for 20 years, so he had experience.

The biggest change had been visually. Mi casa, su art project had turned from concept to reality, and with Annie’s delicate touch, Jeff’s apartment, no, _their_ apartment had gone from _‘short term corporate housing’_ as Annie had so eloquently put it, to a place that now looked like a home. Quickly, the couches had been filled with plush, soft throw pillows, colorful blankets had appeared at the end of the couches, and fancy new curtains had been hung up. Annie had suggested that they re-paint the walls, but had been shot down once Jeff reminded her that the place was a rental.

But it wasn’t just the living room that had undergone a makeover. The bedroom, once considered by Jeff as a place where he slept and did various other activities of a physical nature, had now been decorated. He had protested when Annie brought out her stuffies from a plastic bag, but quickly relented once Annie looked at him endearingly, and told him how her stuffies helped her feel comfortable and safe. He had however resisted having them in the bed itself, so they had been relegated to sitting on the drawer at the other end of the bed, with Ruthie and Nathan ending up on Annie’s bedside table. 

The stuffies represented a side of Annie that was comfortable with being who she was, and she loved her stuffies, even as she grew older. Therefore, it was such a relief that Jeff had accepted it, and let them stay in the room as long as they weren’t in the bed. The ones that didn’t find a spot in the bedroom, ended up on the overhead shelf in the walk-in closet, where Annie had long since gotten one side to herself, after having gradually snuck more and more clothes into Jeff’s apartment before she actually moved in. 

Once the moving in process had been completed, it was obvious that the apartment now had more than a little Annie in it. Britta had ever so eloquently called it a mixture of barbie and batman living together. Annie had for a moment wondered how Jeff would look in a bat suit, but shook it off as a role more suited to Abed, though Jeff could definitely pull off being Bruce Wayne without any trouble, and _definitely_ met the physical demands to wear the suit well.

But despite the apparent contrasts on the surface, Jeff and Annie quickly grew into some shared habits together. They would both get home from work at varying times, often with Jeff getting home first. If he did, he made sure to make them both dinner ready for when Annie got back home from work, or shortly after. And whenever she got home first, she would return the favor, gradually trying new things that would work within Jeff’s diet. It became a mutual give and take, and helped make both of their lives easier and more comfortable. 

Where they differed was the level of organization. While Jeff was clean, his organizational skills weren’t always the best. Annie meanwhile always wanted to keep things neat and organized. In the early goings, there were moments of Annie getting fed up with his habits, and Jeff finding her ridiculous for filing their assortment of spices alphabetically, but he quickly bent to her will. Because he always did. It was Annie, she made ice cream stay frozen and always made him smile with her relentless positivity. So, he bent, but he was happy to.

Likewise, Annie learned to make some sacrifices for Jeff. While she did insist on categorizing certain things she wanted to make it easy to find, _“Jeff, I don’t want to look five minutes to find the right spice for your chicken. Just put it in the right spot and we’ll both find it easily!”_ , she did relent on when they had to wake up during the weekends. Jeff liked to sleep in, which she learned early on. Annie meanwhile desperately wanted to get things done, and wanted to be up early. But Jeff had taught her the importance of relaxing, and insisted that they recharge their batteries over the weekends. And so, Annie did. She worked a little bit, but she’d stay in bed a little extra, snuggled up in his arms as he hugged her tightly.

Yeah, domestic life together was pretty great.


	5. Exasperation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exasperation  
> Noun 
> 
> _The feeling of being annoyed, especially because you can do nothing to solve a problem._

“Jeff, seriously!?”

“What?” Jeff asked, coming back into the living room, fresh out of the shower, his hair still damp, and his white shirt slightly moist from the remains of the shower water that had clung to his skin.

“Why is your gym bag thrown by the door again? Why did you just throw the clothes on the bed?” Annie questioned him harshly, standing a by the couch with her hands crossed tightly over her chest, her big blue eyes judging him intensely.

“Because that’s where I’ve always put them?”

“Jeff, we’ve talked about this.”

“Have you ever considered that you’re expecting perfection constantly?” Jeff threw back at her, and Annie gasped slightly

Annie composed herself quickly and bit back. “I’m expecting you to not throw stuff around everywhere? To not put dirty laundry in our bed? Is that too much to demand?” 

“I’ll put them back in place later, like I always do. I just wanted to go shower and eat, then clean up. Or do you want me to go around cleaning here while I smell like death?”

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

“I’ll clean it up later.”

“No! Why can’t you just put it back where it belongs right away? Why make a mess you need to clean up when you can avoid it?”

“Because I smell like hell and I’m hungry, that’s why.” 

“You’re unbelievable. This is unbelievable.” Annie muttered, then huffed and stormed off out to their balcony, slamming the door behind her as she went.

Jeff looked out through the blinders, and saw her standing there on the balcony. Her arms crossed, her cheeks puffy and her eyes looked like they could tear through an Abrams tank. Or a fighter jet. If looks could kill, Annie was a serial killer. 

But she was also the love of his life. She was a little crazy, but he was crazy about her. She made him smile, made him wake up every day with a purpose, a goal. She was his guiding light, his everything. Disappointing her made his own heart ache in pain. Seen those eyes disappointed in him was the worst feeling in the world, and he couldn’t have that.

Jeff swiftly walked into the bedroom, and scooped up his gym clothes, before tossing them in the laundry basket. He walked back into the bedroom, and made the bed again, just like Annie preferred it. Right after, he walked back into the living room and picked up his back, before carrying it over to his walk-in closet, tucking it in where it was usually placed. Quickly, he walked into the bathroom. His hair was still a bit wet, and he didn’t look especially fancy, but he had to go speak with her. Usually, he wanted to rely on his good looks to do the trick, but he supposed he would need to just speak with her this time.

Urgently, he headed back out into the living room, and peered through the blinders. Annie was still there. He breathed out in relief, and headed to the balcony door. He opened it slowly, and walked slowly up to her, standing beside her as she appeared to look out over the back area of the apartment complex, a rather boring area with a small playground and some benches, much like a small park for the residents.

Annie was the first to speak. “Jeff, sometimes you drive me crazy. It’s exasperating. We’ve agreed to all of those things, yet you can’t keep them.”

“I know.”

Annie turned around to face him directly. “That’s all you have to say?” She questioned, her eyes staring daggers at him.

“Annie, I don’t know what to tell you. I was going to put it back in place. You know I was. I always clean up after myself, I hate having it messy, just like you do. But my mind doesn’t work like yours. I think _‘I need to do this first, then do the other thing afterwards’_ based on what I feel like. Whereas you, you want to do everything at once. And that’s okay. But sometimes, you just need to trust me. You need to trust that even if I don’t do it in the same order as you, I’ll always do it. Maybe I’ll wake up and make breakfast before making the bed, or not put stuff back right away when I make food. But I always do it. Not because you’re forcing me to, but because I want to for you.”

“Jeff…”

“I’m trying, Annie. I’m trying my best to do right by you, every single day. But sometimes my habits will be a bit different. Sometimes I will be lazy and want to do it later. But I’ll always do it.”

“I know.” Annie smiled.

“That’s all you have to say?” Jeff teased with a mischievous smile.

Annie slapped his chest in mild frustration, and shook her head while sporting a bright smile, with a little bit of exasperation. 

“There’s that smile.” Jeff said, smiling back at her.

“You’re lucky I really like you.” Annie said, but she couldn’t stop smiling.

“Do you now? I hadn’t realized.” Jeff teased.

Annie just stood there, lost for words.

“Well, lucky for you that I really like you too.” Jeff replied, and leaned down towards her. Annie, seeing what he was doing, tiptoed up to him, a captured his mouth with her down in a slow, soft kiss.

Down below, two kids had noticed Jeff and Annie standing there on the balcony.

“Look at them! They are kissing!” 

“Ewwwww”

“I think it’s cute.”

“Why do they always kiss? Every time I see them, they kiss. Kiss, all the time! Ew!”

“Mommy says that daddy kisses her because he loves her.”

“Oh. So, the tall man loves her?”

“Yes! Tall man loves cute brown-haired lady!”

“Awww.”


	6. Fatherhood

“Jeff… you’re going to be a dad.”

When she said it, his immediate reaction had been happiness. Joy, pride and love. He loved Annie, he loved that they were doing this, that his dreams were coming true, that for all the stuff he had gone through in his life, he would get a chance to give some young kid what he didn’t have. But then it struck him, like a bolt right out of the sky, reigniting the petrol fueled pool of insecurity in his mind. He was going to be a father.

He laid there in their bed, awake in the middle of the night, sweating. He was going to be a _father_. It was something he had once thought would never happen. It couldn’t happen, he was more interested in sleeping around than settling down. Then he had stopped dating, too distracted by dreams of Annie and white picket fences, all while he felt his life start to fade away. And it nearly had. He was a mess. But he had dreamed, wished for a future when he could be with her, where they could have a son together. Or maybe a daughter. Someone they could love together, unconditionally. But he knew at the time that it was ridiculous. Annie was destined for great things, not to be dating a mess like him and putting brakes on her own career to fulfill his dreams of having a kid. Of finally giving his kind and loving mother the grandchild she had always wanted. 

But he couldn’t do that. It had been a wild dream, a wild scenario where he wasn’t mess who had nearly drank himself to the afterlife. Someone who hadn’t spent their whole life lying to everyone else and themselves. Who usually ran away or turned to the bottle when things got tough. He couldn’t be that person and be a father. It wouldn’t work.

He feared that he would end up being like his own father. Drunk. Abusive. That he would abandon his kid, just like his own father had to him when life wasn’t all roses, wine and fun romance. When the reality of being a father had set in, his own father had finally just gone away, taken himself out of the situation. His mother had done all she could to be there for him, given him unconditional love and support no matter what, but the abandonment had never left him. He feared that even if he stayed, Annie would realize that he wasn’t suited for that life, that she would leave, and find someone that could take care of their kid and love them and be there for them like a father should. 

As these feeling rumbled through his mind, his blood-shot eyes wide open, with tears running from the corner of his eyes and down his cheeks, he felt guilty. Guilty for making this happen. He had wanted this. Discussed the possibility of having a kid early. They had been together two years, and he didn’t want to wait. He didn’t want to be an old dad, someone who would break down physically so they couldn’t play with their kid. He had made Annie do this. Had her put her career on pause for some wild dream he couldn’t follow through on. The tears creeped further down his cheek as he tried to close his eyes again, hoping to will these thoughts away.

“Jeff?”

Annie’s weak and sleepy voice called out to him beside him. Jeff turned around on his side to face her.

“You’re gonna be okay, Jeff. You’ll be a good dad. I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t know that you would. You’re not your dad, you never have been. I love you.”  
Jeff forced out a tight smile, as a teardrop landed softly against his pillow.

She knew, of course she did. They had talked about his dad, his worries, concerns, and doubts. And through all of them, she had been the rock he needed to steady himself, to put a smile back on his face. And when her non-existent relationship with her parents had worried Annie, fearing she would be the same distanced, cold and career focused parent she had experienced growing up. Jeff had eased her down by reminding her that her biggest weakness was that she cared too much, and that he had no doubts that she would be an amazing mom. He knew she would be. 

And as he lay there, looking at her reassuring smile, she reached out for his hand and gripped it tightly but gentle. It reflected who Annie was. Firm, but gentle. Determined, but caring. Ambitious, but loving. He loved her. And as she gripped his hand, he eased down again. He could do this, because he would be doing it with Annie. That unstoppable whirlwind of pure determination and love wouldn’t be stopped either way, so she deserved someone that would be there for her the whole way, and so did their child. So no matter how his fears struck him, he knew he would be there, because he loved her, and he knew he would love their child unconditionally. Together, they could figure this out.

*** 

Eight and a half months later, baby Sebastian was born, and handed over to his happy, bewildered and exhausted father, who looked down at this wonder he and Annie had created. That was his work, his creation, his pride and love. And they had done it together. He looked over at Annie, who was looking at them with a proud, but tired smile. Jeff headed over to her, and carefully handed over their boy to rest in her arms. She had done it, she had gotten him through his fears and worries, and he would be there for the rest of his days. _Together_ , they would make sure that Sebastian grew up with the unconditional love from both his parents that neither of them had growing up. _Together_ , they would make sure that those same mistakes wouldn’t be repeated by them. They weren’t going anywhere. And like with all the challenges they had faced in the past; they would conquer this one too. And with Annie and Jeff teaming up, how could they not? They were a pretty good team after all.

Jeff simply looked at them both and smiled proudly and happily. Those were the loves of his life. Forever and ever.

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank Readymcreaderson for giving me the idea to do this kind of fic. I also want to give a shoutout to Morganatique9 and AmryWiol, who are doing the same style of fic:   
> Morganetique9: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25736119/chapters/62494912  
> AmryWiol: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27126658/chapters/66242008
> 
> And I also want to thank the Community Discord fan-fic channel for their continued support and encouragement!


End file.
